GUWAHATI, Nov 24: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has reiterated its firm opposition to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and asserted that it would resume the movement against the legislation after consultations with like-minded indigenous groups and regional parties of the state.
Speaking to mediapersons here, APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah said the Congress, as part of its role as a responsible Opposition party, would never accept the controversial Act as the legislation has created an ambience of a divisive society and would invariably pose a threat to the future generation.
“We have started consultations with all indigenous groups to once again launch a mass movement against CAA, be it within Parliament or in the streets, in the interest of the state and its people, and also to compel the ruling party to revoke the Act,” Borah said.
The APCC chief further said that a majority of the people of Assam are against the legislation and therefore would believe and support parties and groups that do not compromise on their anti-CAA stand and take the movement ahead.
Asked why the anti-CAA movement weakened, he said that when Congress took up the onus to lead the agitation (in 2019), the public opinion was in favour of an apolitical party/group to steer the movement ahead.
“Nevertheless, as a party, we played a sincere and responsible role, in and outside Parliament. However, a section of the apolitical groups on whom the people of the state had bestowed their faith upon to take movement forward, compromised on their stance. Thereafter, the pandemic brought everything to a standstill,” the APCC president said.
“But today, they have realised that had they not compromised and held firm, then before the farm laws, the CAA would have been withdrawn,” he said.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, responding to reporters on Tuesday evening, opined that the people were yet to recover from the hangover of the pandemic-induced challenges and therefore need some “space”.
“So I think they would not be inclined to resume agitation for now, as lives and livelihoods are priority in a post-COVID scenario even as a possible third wave looms,” he said.